The familiar voice made Tauran open his eyes. Roric parted the crowd easily as he came toward Tauran, dressed in the Sky Guard’s commander uniform. He spread his arms wide, corners of his eyes creasing with his smile.
“Roric.” Tauran accepted the embrace, not expecting the knot forming in his throat. Roric had been his best friend. People used to joke that the two of them were closer than Roric was to Emilian, his actual brother. Leaving Roric had been the hardest part of leaving his past behind.
“Look at you,” Tauran said, his voice a little too frail for his liking. He took Roric by the shoulders. “I’ve never seen you dress so fine.”
“I know. It suits me, doesn’t it?” Roric winked at him, then embraced him again, cupping the back of Tauran’s head. “Shit, I missed you.”
Tauran exhaled shakily. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Roric released him, patting him on the shoulder before gripping on tighter, leading Tauran back through the crowd. “You’re here, now. That’s what matters.”
The ground recruits had moved back countless yards to make space for the large figure at the base of the tower. Against his will, Tauran’s eyes were drawn to it.
Dark gray scales reflected the sunlight when the dragon bowed its head and shook its shoulders from the flight. It stretched one massive wing, then the other, before gathering them in close.
The common stateras were the perfect balance between the speed and agility of swiftwings and the power and strength of titans. Valeron had always been large for a statera, and he’d grown even larger since Tauran had last seen him. Huge curved claws dug grooves in the packed dirt with no effort, and when Tauran raised his gaze, piercing silver eyes stared back at him above exposed rows of dagger-like teeth. Five feet long shining horns sat above black spines protruding all along a curved neck, ending at the shoulders and giving way to a black and silver saddle polished to a perfect shine.
“Here’s someone you know,” Roric said to the dragon, approaching with a carelessness that made their audience gasp anew. The recruits gathered closer, full of awe, but the more experienced soldiers only spared the majestic beast brief glances. Dragons came and went to the grounds all the time.
Tauran stopped a few feet inside the cleared space. He’d very carefully, very deliberately, not laid eyes on a dragon since he’d left the city. In the years since, he’d wondered how he might react. Would it frighten him? Trigger the panic and need to escape that he found so hard to control? Or would he look into the eyes of that mighty creature and see her, knowing he’d never be able to touch her again, or feel her warm breaths against his skin?
Valeron’s steps echoed in the open space as he approached Tauran. He might not be even half the size of a titan, but with a shoulder height of thirteen feet and a wingspan almost six times as wide, he was still a force to be reckoned with. Countless feet frantically shuffled backward behind Tauran.
Valeron stretched his neck and lowered his head. His chest expanded like a barrel when he inhaled. He released his breath in a gust against Tauran’s chest.
Valeron shifted, his nose inches from Tauran’s face before leaning in the rest of the way to graze Tauran’s cheek. The scales were sun-warmed and smooth to the touch. It sent a shiver of sadness and longing through Tauran that made his entire body tremble. He wanted to reach out, but the tension inside him chained his hands to his pockets and clenched his fists.
“I’m gonna take him up top.” Roric’s voice broke the spell and Tauran stepped back, very carefully putting the cracking parts of his heart back into place. “Will you be around?”
“No, I think I’ll head back,” Tauran said. He hadn’t fallen apart, but with this many people watching, he wasn’t about to push his luck.
“All right.” Roric sounded disappointed. He went to Valeron’s side, tapping his wing to get him to lift it out of the way. “Maybe we can catch up tomorrow? I’ll be here all day.”
“Sure,” Tauran said, before he could really think it through.
Roric gave him another of his brilliant smiles. “Excellent. See you tomorrow!” He pulled onto Valeron’s back, and Tauran took hasty steps backward to get clear of Valeron’s massive wings when the dragon pushed off the ground and ascended into the air, spiked tail rolling underneath his body with enough